1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the electronic collection and collation of information from various data sources. More particularly, embodiments of the invention create custom-formatted reports, based on point-of-sale data from franchise restaurants, for example, that authorized users can access easily from multiple locations.
2. Description of Related Art
Embodiments of the invention use the Internet for transmitting point-of-sale data between computing devices. The Internet has terminology specific to it. The following terms should assist in understanding the Internet in general and embodiments of the invention disclosed herein:
HTML: Hypertext Mark Up Language. The language that web-based documents are written in.
Browser: Software that allows you to interact with HTML documents.
IE: Internet Explorer. A commonly used browser.
URL: Uniform Resource Locator. The address of a web site.
Web Page: A single HTML document (it may be more than one page long when printed).
Web Site: A collection of pages written in HTML.
Home Page: The first page of a web site or the first page that a browser displays when it is started.
Download: The process of moving information from the Internet to your computer. When you look at a site in your web browser, the information is downloaded.
Upload: The process of moving information from your computer to the Internet.
HTTP: Hypertext Transfer Protocol. The method of moving HTML documents.
Hyperlink (link): The method of moving around an HTML document. Links can be graphics or text. Links can take you to another page in a site, to a different site, or to an e-mail form.
FTP: File Transfer Protocol. The method of moving non-HTML documents (such as graphic and daily extract files).
WWW: World Wide Web. An area of the Internet where web sites are stored. Also the first three letters of most URLs.
Internet: A collection of HTML documents that are accessible to users who have access to the Internet.
ISP: Internet Service Provider: A company that allows Internet users access to their computers. The company from which you rent the ability to connect to the Internet.
GUI: Graphical User Interface. Pronounced xe2x80x9cgooey.xe2x80x9d A program that uses graphics to enable users to interface with information. IE, Windows 95 and Windows 98 are GUIs.
Point-of-sale systems have enjoyed tremendous popularity in the restaurant industry and other industries. Such systems typically perform data input and storage, and, in combination with back-office or back-of-the-house systems, perform corresponding analysis and output. Inventory control, suggestive selling prompts, accurate timekeeping and scheduling, remote access management, coupon usage and effectiveness analysis, purchase-order generation based on historical sales, and other record keeping and analysis activities are among the functions that such systems can perform.
Using the power and speed of the Internet, embodiments of the invention electronically collect and collate information from point-of-sale data sources. That information then is turned into custom-formatted reports that authorized users can access easily using any computer that has Internet access and a suitable web browser, e.g. Internet Explorer.
Embodiments of the invention work effortlessly, with little or no changes needed in the underlying technology infrastructure. Franchisees, for example, do not need to invest in expensive additional equipment or software, according to embodiments of the invention. Additionally, administrative tasks can be performed by just one person (depending on the number of stores in the franchise or other operation). Often the biggest hurdle to implementing new technology is the cost of equipment and/or personnel. In most cases, however, embodiments of the invention remove both of those hurdles, making it easier to receive quality, meaningful information about a business, e.g. a franchise operation.
By using the Internet, users with appropriate permission can set up their own report subscriptions and can request reports on any combination of stores for any range of dates, for example. Additionally, although reports are delivered over the Internet and are displayed using browser technology, the access web site is protected by appropriate security strategies. A valid user name and password are required, and automatic log-out occurs when a user leaves the site inactive for more than a desired time period, e.g. 15 minutes. Additionally, the data is in read-only format, so general users do not have the ability to make changes to the data source.
Other advantages and features of the invention in its various embodiments will be apparent from the remainder of this patent application.